Pegasus issue | No snooping till I was CM: Fadnavis

BJP leader denies allegations on use of spyware by earlier regime

Facing allegations that the Maharashtra government too may have used the , former Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said the government did not avail of the services of the Israeli firm NSO till he was in the office. “Maharashtra government did not avail services of the NSO till I was the Chief Minister,” he said, addressing a press conference. Mr. Fadnavis, however, acknowledged that a team from the DGIPR (the State government’s publicity department) went to Israel after the 2019 elections before the new government was formed. “But the trip was for agriculture development purposes,” he claimed. During the previous regime, the opposition Congress had alleged that several opposition leaders were under surveillance. Questions have also been raised as to whether evidence was digitally planted against the human rights activists arrested in the Koregaon-Bhima case.